Advace photo/Jamie LeeFrank and Sharon Coppola have been piecing together elaborate Christmas scenes in their living room for the past 20 years.

ANNADALE -- With the MTA proposing a $14 toll on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in a worst case scenario, many South Shore residents are scrambling to find ways to beat the possible rate hike.

Frank Coppola got there first, though, with a very unique solution -- he simply built his own.

Now don't think the Annadale resident was out in the Narrows with steel and concrete. In fact, he's been high and dry in his Edgegrove Avenue home.

Frank and his wife, Sharon, have been constructing holiday villages in their living room every December since the late 1980s, and last year he erected a Verrazano-esque suspension bridge in the middle of the snow-covered scene.

"The bridge has been the center of attraction for the last two years," said the television repairman-turned woodworker proudly. "People get such a kick out of it."

But saying the bridge is the sole draw for friends and family at the Coppola household is quite the understatement.

True, the bridge has a nostalgic charm as one of the few hand made additions to the village, but each and every piece of the couple's collection has some sort of sentimental value attached to it.

And memories come flooding back every year when Frank brings the boxes down from the attic and Sharon begins the two-week process of arranging the items to fit whichever theme they've chosen for that particular December.

"Each one has some sort of memory," Sharon said. "Some were gifts from loved ones. Some
we bought on our own. But they all mean something different to us."

The Dickens Village, which now serves as an old-fashioned representation of Staten Island for the panorama, will always have a special place as Coppola's first pieces. It's what started the ball rolling.

The Santa Claus Village came next, followed by the Christmas in New York line. In fact, the Coppolas' living room may be the only place that elves freely mingle with citizens of the Big Apple, and Santa's sleigh can be seen by King Kong while he climbs the Empire State Building.

Coney Island isn't far away with its brand-new parachute drop -- a gift from the couple's future son-in-law -- and a hot dog vendor is peddling franks in front of the Yankee Stadium facade -- a present from one of their longtime friends.

Skiers take to the slopes of the Alpine Village, which is Sharon's favorite, and can spot the Eiffel Tower and St. Peter's Basilica from the mountaintop.

And borrowing from their respective heritages, Frank is sure to place Luigi's Italian restaurant somewhere close to where Sharon has laid the Irish pub.

The one real unifying theme among all of the structures is that they come from or are similar to the Department 56 line of Snow Villages.

More than three decades old now, Department 56 was born as a part of Minnesota-based Bachman's retail outlet.

The store, familiar to most seasonal collectors, used a numbering system to identify each of its departments. Its wholesale gift imports division was, obviously, No. 56.

Still thriving as an independent dealer, Department 56 products appear in many homes across the country. Most, however, do not come close to rivaling the Coppola's extensive collection.

But just because the couple is well-stocked doesn't mean they'll be slowing down anytime soon.

"I was at Fortunoff the other day and I saw a television repair shop," said Frank. "I've got to get that [as a retired repairman myself]."

There are also plans for a Staten Island Ferry with running water and some sort of actual snowfall instead of just rolls of fluffy cotton.

"All of our friends love it," Frank added. "But we have to come up with something new every year. We just have to."